L&D: Organizing Your Content & Data For ReUse and Maintenance

Organizing For Increased ReUse and More

Should you ReUse some of that for both Effectiveness and Efficiency purposes?

Can you ReUse them easily?

Or – is it just too difficult unless it was your Projects and your Products?

If you thought of your Instructional and Informational Products as modular – just as a book is modular with chapters – could you share some of those chapters with other Target Audiences to shorten Request Response cycle times … and costs?

I bet you could.

And … even chapters can be thought of as modular! And those sections … which I call Instructional Activities … can be SHARED – either “As Is” and/or “After Modification.”

And can you store and find and ReUse the derivatives created by ReUse ‘After Modification?” You should be able to IMO.

IF you are managing your Product Line as the expensive investment cost that it represents. It does represent Shareholder Equity – and the real ROE – is Return on Equity – which is diminished when you don’t manage it as you should. How’s THAT for an Expectation?

T&D Events – and T&D Modules/Lessons – and T&D Instructional Activities – can almost all be shared either “As Is” and “After Modification” to reduce cycle times and costs … and increase shared understanding … as those that need to can be learning and singing off the same hymnal page – so to speak.

Organizing For Both PUSH and PULL

PUSH Target Audiences are the most critical in the Enterprise – while PULL are not (or not yet).

This is consistent with my long held belief that “just because you can determine a Learning Need – does not in and of itself warrant meeting that need.”

Meeting a Learning Need is a Business Decision – and should be based on the Risks and Returns potential given the Investment Costs. ROI 101 if you will.

So – what do I suggest as an Organizing Scheme?

Here are the 4 sides of my Digital Box for storing all digital data in an organized manner.

Side 1 of the Digital Box

If you follow my PACT Processes for MCD/IAD – the ADDIE-like approach – which is a Project Planning & Management framework than a Design method BTW – these 5 Tiers is central…

IAD is where you intend to build some of the components now and MAYBE later wrap that/those in a more typical Instructional Product – such as building Performance Tests first to MAYBE using them later and incorporating them into several courses and use in the HR Recruiting/Selection Process and/or in a Pay Progression Program. Which I have done several times in the past 3 decades.

This allows you the flexibility to meet client’s immediate needs now and later at a reduced costs. Like building the house now and an attached garage later.

Side 2 of the Digital Box

Besides Products and their modular sub-assemblies (Lessons and Instructional Activities) – you’ve got data. Analysis and Design templates and project data. You’ve got Development templates. Where does that get stored for potential ReUse by others?

Or is it buried on everyone’s hard drives – and lost to future use/ReUse?

Or it is so time consuming and costly that people just ReCreate – because “time’s awasting” in any attempt to try to track it down? Thus introducing Content variation unnecessarily and increasing costs.

Side 3 of the Digital Box

You’ve got Maintenance to keep up with – to keep everything EVERGREEN. Because out-of-date Content doesn’t do anyone any good and makes you look like you don’t know how to manage your Product Line.

Side 4 of the Digital Box

Where do you store your existing Products that aren’t designed/developed using my modular approach?

Where do you store the official photo of the CEO and of headquarters? Or the company logo and the rules for usage?

What external sources are you using – and what are the links to them? Are they still valid? What about when new sources should be used and the old sources “sunsetted?”

Or is your current approach to all of this an unorganized mess? Costly? Inefficient?

And reflecting poorly on your entire operations?

Why Bother?

For the ROI potential. The Rs for using my approach – the PACT Processes for Training/ Learning/ Knowledge Management – include these 7 sources for the R in ROI:

The PACT Processes

I started using aspects of what became the PACT Processes in 1979 – when I started using a Group Process to conducting Analysis and Design to shorten the Review/Revision cycles I was trapped in. The first articles on the Analysis and Design of a Path were published in 1984.

They have been used on hundreds and hundreds of projects that I am aware of – and maybe thousands that I am not aware of.

Key Resources

The best resources are in these 6 books. But there are over 400 resources elsewhere in my website – see the Resource Tab for access to those.

For more information about these 6 books – and others written by me – please go – here.

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My First Friday Favorite Guru Series – My Thanks & Attributions to 42

These 42 individuals are the professionals who have knowingly and unknowingly influenced me the most. Click on the image for links to those 42 posts.

Guy W. Wallace

Performance Analyst & Instructional Architect - Since 1979

External Consultant - Since 1982. Semi-Retired in January 2016.

Guy has served over 80 clients including over 45 F500 firms since November 1982.

Recipient of the ISPI - the International Society for Performance Improvement - Honorary Life Member Award - 2010 - for contributions to the Society and to the Technology for Performance Improvement (PI).

Founding member of ASQ’s Influential Voices Initiative - 2010. Served through 2015.

Guy W. Wallace collaborates with his Clients using predictable, visible, proven processes on time and on budget.

Client work won awards for AT&T, General Motors, Siemens Building Technologies.

Guy's 30+ years in the performance improvement/ training/ learning business have been focused in 2 key areas:

1- analysis of the organization and its business processes to derive the "Learning Requirements" from the "Performance Requirements" and...

2- design/architecting the configuration of instructional and informational content.

Project Overviews for over 200 of my consulting engagements - 1982 through 2015 - are available under the Clients Tab.

Developing L&D Content for Performance Impact

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L&D: Don’t build it or buy it or curate it unless you are willing to adequately resource deploying it, administrating it, monitoring it and maintaining it. There are life cycle costs beyond the first costs of acquisition.

A 1987 On-Boarding Story – Ramping Up a New Product Manager’s Performance Competence – Quickly

When Shortening the Time to Performance Competence is a Critical Business Issue with Worthy ROI. Click on Image for the Post

In an Enterprise Learning Context

Measured Results Requires Meaningful Measurements

Click on Image for the Post

Paths-Menus-Guides-Maps for Training and Learning and Knowledge Management

The PACT Processes for performance-based T&D, L&D and Knowledge Management

lean-ISD : Effective and Efficient and Focused on the Performance Competence Requirements

In PACT – Even the APPOs – Application Exercises are Architected

If You Could Bring Others Up Closer to the Levels of Your Current State Master Performers – What Would Be the ROI?

Curriculum Architecture Design – Since 1982

Performance Competence Development Paths vs Learning Paths - the difference is in the Analysis.

Recognition and Awards for My Professional Contributions and Consulting

For Specifics - Click on Graphic

Recipient of ISPI’s 2010 Honorary Life Member Award

The top ISPI award, was awarded for contributions to both the technology of performance improvement and to the Society - as unanimously approved by two consecutive boards of the Society. Awarded in 2010.

ISPI – My Professional Home Since 1979

Retirement Book Pricing – As Of March 15, 2016

Click on the Image for a Link to More Info

Free Book PDF: lean-ISD (1999) cover the 5 methodology-sets of the PACT Processes.

Click on Image for free 410-page Book PDF plus links to a $30 Paperback version. lean-ISD was a recipient of a 2002 ISPI Award of Excellence for Instructional Communication.

Get Ahead of the Learning Curve with Performance-based Formal Learning

That's Why Formal and Coaching By Master Performers Should Precede Informal Learning. Less to Unlearn for Ultimate Success: Performance Competence

The Wallace 6 Pack to Guide You – From Training to Performance Improvement Consulting

Click on Graphic to Link for More Information

The Top 30 All Time Most Popular Posts and Pages Are…

The Top 30 All Time Most Popular Posts and Pages Listeed

Here are the all time most popular from the 2433 Posts and 120 Pages of this site… and the number of views of each since 2007. Click on the red image above to link to the post...

1. What Guidance for Approaching Learning Is There From Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs? 27,919
2. The Big 5 in Human Personality Assessments: CANOE 18,693

I started my Blog at another host back in 2004, and I moved twice before landing here at WordPress in 2007.

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There Is Too Much Foo Foo!

Avoid the Foo Foo in Instructional Design and Performance Improvement

You Go Down The Learning Path to Go Up The Learning Curve – to go Up the Performance Competence Curve

Guy has been doing performance-based Training Paths and Planning Guides for clients since 1982. First published on Curriculum Architecture in Training Magazine in September 1984 and on the Analysis methods in NSPI's (now ISPI) PIJ in November 1984.

What Was Innovative in Curriculum or Learning Architectures in 1984 – Would Still Seem To Be Innovative Today – Why?

Celebrating – 30 Year Anniversary of this Publication – September 2014

How to Build a Training Structure That Won’t Keep Burning Down - Training Magazine - September 1984

Celebrating – 30 Year Anniversary of this Publication – November 2014

Using a Group Process to Create Models and Matrices - NSPI Performance & Instruction Journal - November 1984

Performance Development Paths

a.k.a.: Learning Paths focused on Performance Competence

Walk the Talk – of Processes Maturity

Walk the Talk – of Processes Alignment

Walk the Talk – of Processes Centricity

Myth Busting in L&D

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In the Resource Tab…

3 Levers in EPPI – Enterprise Process Performance Improvement

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The EPPI View of Processes and their Enablers and Enabling Systems

And the Enabling/ Provisioning Systems and Processes that enable the Enablers. Note that "Awareness/ Knowledge/ Skills" are just 1 of 12 categories of enabling Process Performance variables - when you include the design of the Process itself, first and foremost.

I Offer Over 150 Free Videos On This Site On the Topics of ISD and PI!